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Posted in: Comics, Comics, DC Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Sponsored | Tagged: aids, auction, dc comics, sandman
Death Talks About Life – The Most Collectable AIDS Pamphlet Ever?
Death Talks About Life by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean was an awareness-raising leaflet given away by DC Comics in 1994, featuring Death from Sandman and John Constantine from Hellblazer. As a matter of fact, highlighting the issues regarding AIDS and its spread, it was also both moving and inspirational. And over the years, especially given its flimsy nature, the prominence of its creators, and the imminence of the new Sandman TV series on Netflix, it has become rather collectable. A copy CGC slabbed at 9.8 is currently being auctioned from Heritage Auctions with bids currently totalling $87, and goes under the hammer today. Not bad for a comic book given away for free. And yes, that does also make this the most valuable AIDS-related leaflet published. It seems such an aeon away, when AIDS was a death sentence, when fear was the currency, and prejudice was doled out against many. This leaflet spoke a different language, one of understanding, accepting, being practical, loving and kind. That it was narrated by the embodiment of Death might have felt a natural impediment to such a thing but, as Death most memorably states in this comic book, "life is a sexually transmitted disease". Death defines life as much as anything else in the Sandman comic books. And to have John Constantine as the comic relief, providing a banana for the obligatory condom demonstration, still makes me smile. This comic is like a time capsule from an era when Neil Gaiman wasn't even allowed to use the word "masturbate" in a mature readers' comic book. How things have changed…
Death Talks About Life #nn (DC/Vertigo, 1994) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages. Neil Gaiman story. Dave McKean art. AIDS prevention issue. Not listed in Overstreet. CGC census 5/22: 61 in 9.8, none higher.
Overstreet 2021 NM- 9.2 value = $5. CGC census 5/22: 61 in 9.8, none higher.
Affiliates of Bleeding Cool buy from and/or consign to Heritage Auctions.
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